


Divine Ambition

by rbmifan



Category: Forgotten Realms
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Gen, Gods, Missing Scene, Sibling Rivalry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-08
Updated: 2011-01-08
Packaged: 2017-10-14 13:56:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/149900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rbmifan/pseuds/rbmifan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There was no sign of her brother anymore, save for the telltale shadows still being absorbed by her forest, weaving themselves into the song.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Divine Ambition

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for Lisa Smedman's Sacrifice of the Widow. If you haven't read the book you might not get this drabble- it sort of expands on what happened after Vhaeraun stepped through the portal to Eilistraee's realm.

Eilistraee exhaled, and the sound was a whisper of a song that cut through the forest. Her forest. The melody was clear and sweet, merging with the ever-present song that hummed from the top of the dark, drooping canopies to the bottom of the sparkling blue streams. She raised blue-silver eyes to follow the sound and smiled. Each new melody added to the song that was the essence of her being. Where the song ruled, there was peace, purity and perfection.

As, in time, the forests of her drow would be. Now they were tainted with the evil of the monsters that lurked there. Such creatures did not belong in the song, and could never understand its beauty. Her drow would purge the forests of those unworthy of them.

Eilistraee was drow. She had been exiled along with her mother and her brother after Lloth’s betrayal, though she herself had done nothing wrong. She had told her father that she chose to accept the curse to offer the drow a chance to escape the dark path they were headed down. She had thought only to offer an alternative to her family’s evil, nothing more. She would not take direct action against those drow who did not accept that alternative, because they could always change their mind.

But each year she saw them sinking further and further into darkness that passivity grew harder to maintain. Her mother had deafened their ears to the song, and to save even one was a struggle. The drow sang twisted music in praise of their dark queen and danced a mockery of their forgotten life. Eilistraee hardly recognized them anymore.

But they did not belong to her mother. Through all the years of struggle she had never forgotten that fact. The Sri’Tel’Quessir had once lived among the other elves on the surface. They had never been meant to wallow in the shadows of the Underdark and vie for control over isolated cities for the amusement of their demon goddess. They belonged on the surface. They belonged in Eilistraee’s song.

She could not stand idly by and watch any longer. Her priestess had informed her that Vhaeraun intended to kill her now. It was a pity. Of all the deities that laid claim to the drow, her brother was the only one who came close to hearing the song. In her realm, and without the element of surprise, he could not hope to win against her. His death would grant her the power she needed to begin actively reclaiming the drow.

Her sword twitched as she felt a portal open behind her, but she did not turn to face the intruder. Vhaeraun took great pride in his ability to work undetected. With no way of knowing that his sister had been forewarned, he was expecting to catch her off-guard. Indeed, if Eilistraee hadn’t been expecting him she would likely not even have known he had entered her realm. It was an unsettling thought; one she did not care to dwell on. He would not be around to repeat the attempt, after all.

She allowed him to get close to her, forcing herself to relax as she strained to track his movements. She leaned against a tree and feigned a thoughtful expression. To her left, the song rippled as something discordant passed through it and Eilistraee twisted away, parrying the sword thrust meant for her neck. Quicksilver clashed with darkfire, and Eilistraee caught her breath at the small implosion that resulted. Vhaeraun had put a lot of power behind that strike.

She separated and circled to face her now-visible brother. Vhaeraun’s eyes were scarlet with fury, and Eilistraee smiled at the sight. He wasn’t used to being surprised, especially in the middle of one of his little schemes. He feinted with his other sword, moonlight shining off the silver blade, and brought the black one in low. Night Shadow and Silverflash, Eilistraee remembered. She had become very acquainted with those swords during their childhood. Falling back, she called upon her forest to protect her. Silver strands of moonlight circled his wrists and ankles, tying him down and forcing him to his knees. The silver sword was knocked out of his hand, and another moonbeam flicked his longsword into the pond. It was over in a heartbeat. Eilistraee felt a faint tug of regret as she looked at him. He was her brother, after all, whether they got along or not. He could have been so much more…

But now was not the time for second guessing herself. Vhaeraun had had countless chances to redeem himself, and it was his own actions that had led to this encounter. “You were always too greedy, brother,” she whispered, perhaps more coldly than she had intended. He looked up at her, then, and his hatred was almost tangible, ringing unpleasantly against the music of her forest.

“How?” His voice was strained, no doubt from the effort of trying to dispel his bonds, and dumbfounded. He could not conceive of how he could possibly have been detected. She frowned at that. Confidence was one thing, but to be completely blind to the possibility of detection…Vhaeraun had sunk farther than she had assumed. She put more disdain into her answer than she felt – it would not do for her brother to know just how close he had come to succeeding.

“You didn’t honestly think your plan would work, did you?” She narrowed her eyes and paced around to stand behind him. “To have the audacity to invade another deity’s realm with the support of three mortal priests wielding a magic they barely comprehend? You always were to arrogant for your own good.” Her eyes softened then, though he couldn’t see. “I didn’t want it to end like this, you know. I thought that maybe, eventually, you would come around on your own.”

He was quiet for a moment. “I see you’re as naïve as always, sister. If you hadn’t interfered with me I might have left you alone with your little idealistic bubble.”

She sighed, the forest echoing with a mournful hymn. “And perhaps you would have. It doesn’t really matter anymore, I suppose.”

Eilistraee lifted her swords in a graceful arc, and the blades sung out a note sharp against the suddenly quiet forest. Vhaeraun stiffened at the sound, though she had moved beyond his line of sight, and the cords quivered as he tried, desperately, to break them. He was on his hands and knees, exposing his back to the goddess. She lined both swords up with his heart, but hesitated before she struck. It was not like her to strike from behind – corrupted though her brother was, he deserved a better death. She sheathed the sword in her left hand and grabbed the deity by the back of his piwafwi, yanking him backwards roughly and spinning him around to face her.

The movement loosened the cords restraining his arms and legs, and before she could correct the problem his right hand had flashed to the side to snatch up the short sword she hadn’t bothered to kick away. He meant to kill her, and she couldn’t possibly hope to block it in time. Instead, she twisted her body to the side, using the momentum to bring her right sword up under his blow. A sudden wave of agony temporarily blinded her; she felt hot liquid running down her chest and the cold, comforting embrace of the ground as her knees hit it. She could not even recollect whether she had managed to kill Vhaeraun with her blow.

* * *

Eilistraee woke slowly, as if through a thick fog. She comprehended first that she was lying on the ground. There was a faint throbbing in her arms, and she realized that they were folded awkwardly beneath her. A moment’s consideration told her that perhaps she should move to a more comfortable position. She pushed herself up and twisted to sit on her knees, then used a waiting tree branch to pull her up to her feet. Why was she so weak?

Of course. Realization hit her suddenly, and she felt for the wound Vhaeraun had inflicted. She found a thin scar, disappearing even as she examined it, slightly to the left of her heart. She frowned in confusion. Even for a goddess, that should have been a killing blow. She rested her fingers on the now-smooth skin. Small wisps of shadows clung to her fingers where they touched the healed area, and she had her explanation. She had killed Vhaeraun just before dying herself; the rush of power as she absorbed his portfolio must have accelerated the healing process. Lucky, that.

There was no sign of her brother anymore, save for the telltale shadows still being absorbed by her forest, weaving themselves into the song. She felt the harsh, subtle notes of Vhaeraun’s essence as the song transformed them into a sound worthy of the forest they now belonged to. Vhaeraun’s dreams were over; his followers and influence hers. Such was ambition, however, and where one dream had failed another would succeed. She finally turned to a tug on her awareness, insistent, vying for her attention. Her new disciples; they wished to know the reason for their god’s change. It was time to answer them. Eilistraee’s silver eyes took on a gold tint as she picked up her sword and sheathed it. The tides had shifted. Her drow would finally claim the birthright that had been denied them these past millennia. Soon. She would make sure of that.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally published on Deviantart on 01-17-08


End file.
